** Quintessential Crockett & Jones Thread ** (reviews, quality, etc...)

[Von Knauzenstein]

Out with the Islays today. I struggled quite a bit with them at first. They would give me such heel pain I couldn't walk more than 40 mins in them. They ripped the skin off of my heels first time I wore them. I was actually checking eBay prices to see what I could sell them for. But I persevered and now on the 5th wear they are much better. After an hour my heels hurt but I expect it to get better once they soften a bit more.
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They look nice and after a few years they will be even more nice and more comfortable.

If have two pairs of brown Islays and it took me some time to break them in. What I did with my second pair to avoid bleeding toes and ankles was wearing them every day for one hour for the first week inside the house and then take them outside for a hour the second week and slowly increase the walking hours.

 

[Mr_Spud]

They look nice and after a few years they will be even more nice and more comfortable.

If have two pairs of brown Islays and it took me some time to break them in. What I did with my second pair to avoid bleeding toes and ankles was wearing them every day for one hour for the first week inside the house and then take them outside for a hour the second week and slowly increase the walking hours.

That’s a lot of brown. 🤣

 

[Duke Santos]

Your experience speaks to an often missed opportunity. On initial wears, these would either be sold or returned. With a little patience and some wears, they have become a "very comfortable" pair of boots.

This is not to suggest that people should suffer with pinched toes that cause pain due to a narrow toe box, as that may never widen enough, but a little diligence and persistence does yield good results on a slightly uncomfortable pair. Just got to wear them shoes/boots.

Yes, there was nothing wrong with the fit or the last to my foot (both of which are among the best in my collection). It was merely a function of how stiff that embossed Scotch grain leather is out of the box.

 

[Von Knauzenstein]

Yes, there was nothing wrong with the fit or the last to my foot (both of which are among the best in my collection). It was merely a function of how stiff that embossed Scotch grain leather is out of the box.

My Pembroke and Coniston's where more easy to break in then the Islays. The black Scotch grain the most easy, then the dark brown Scotch grain but the tan Scotch grain was the hardest? Maybe different batch of leather? My pair of Snowdon's was the most difficult pair to break in while my Radnor in black calf the most easy of all of my C&J's. Live is hard.

 

[JFWR]

Rain that never came caused me to wear my aldershots last night.



The buckle is not as nice as I thought. Even after getting more holes made to properly tighten it, it's a pain to slip the buckle into the strap and it's long enough that I need to put the tail through the pulling hoop on the back. Moreover, should I decide to remove the buckle, the space in the roughout suede where the buckle connects to the boot is such that it would reveal the lining underneath, exposing the backside of the lining to wet that I think would cause serious problems in the long run with the boots. There'd be no easy way to block off the hole, so even if I wanted to say, convert this boot to a strapless version, I'd be left with no apparent remedies.

I am not saying I dislike the boot in any sense. I love the design, and I love the roughout/scotch grain combination - a feature no other boots from C&J has - but I think I'd have preferred a better design on the buckle, which doesn't really serve much of a purpose, and is basically non-functioning out of the box due to the poor choice of its length.

Any suggestions on what I might do to make the buckle work better?

As it stands, the buckle isn't that big of a deal as I am only going to ever wear this with long trousers. Even if I were to say, go hiking in these boots (which they most assuredly could handle) I'd be wearing long trousers.

 

[Style989]

Rain that never came caused me to wear my aldershots last night.

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The buckle is not as nice as I thought. Even after getting more holes made to properly tighten it, it's a pain to slip the buckle into the strap and it's long enough that I need to put the tail through the pulling hoop on the back. Moreover, should I decide to remove the buckle, the space in the roughout suede where the buckle connects to the boot is such that it would reveal the lining underneath, exposing the backside of the lining to wet that I think would cause serious problems in the long run with the boots. There'd be no easy way to block off the hole, so even if I wanted to say, convert this boot to a strapless version, I'd be left with no apparent remedies.

I am not saying I dislike the boot in any sense. I love the design, and I love the roughout/scotch grain combination - a feature no other boots from C&J has - but I think I'd have preferred a better design on the buckle, which doesn't really serve much of a purpose, and is basically non-functioning out of the box due to the poor choice of its length.

Any suggestions on what I might do to make the buckle work better?

As it stands, the buckle isn't that big of a deal as I am only going to ever wear this with long trousers. Even if I were to say, go hiking in these boots (which they most assuredly could handle) I'd be wearing long trousers.

They look really nice. Didn't realise the strap was such an issue

 

[JFWR]

They look really nice. Didn't realise the strap was such an issue

They came with too few holes and just generally an overlong strap. Still bad ass boots, though.

 

[Style989]

Maybe worth asking CJ if they can shorten the strap for you?

 

[Style989]

So I closed a deal and to celebrate I decided to get some new shoes obviously 😂

I narrowed it down to these options:

1) brown Northcote + black Oxford (Alex/westbourne/higbury)

2) Grizedale + Indiana

3) Higher end shoe (GG, St Crispins etc.) or even handgrade CJ. Although not much I like from current hand grade line up so would be MTO

Northcote plus Oxford probably is the most practical for my needs and fills a gap. However, I do love rough out suede.

 

[JFWR]

Maybe worth asking CJ if they can shorten the strap for you?

I'll probably just go to my cobbler, but that's a good idea, too. Anyway, when you tighten it maximally (which I have) it works, but I still don't like how long the tail is.

It's such a cool boot, though! And they're built like tanks. I sincerely feel like I could go on a mountain hike in these and still feel stylish enough to go to dinner afterwards. They're also warm as hell. I have no doubt my feet will be toasty, as these are definitely too hot to wear in the summer months.

 

[JFWR]

So I closed a deal and to celebrate I decided to get some new shoes obviously 😂

I narrowed it down to these options:

1) brown Northcote + black Oxford (Alex/westbourne/higbury)

2) Grizedale + Indiana

3) Higher end shoe (GG, St Crispins etc.) or even handgrade CJ. Although not much I like from current hand grade line up so would be MTO

Northcote plus Oxford probably is the most practical for my needs and fills a gap. However, I do love rough out suede.

Why not go for one rustic boot and then an oxford? You'll cover both bases. So maybe the Grizedale and the Alex would go good?

Even though I'm complaining about the strap, the Aldershots are super lovely and I like the roughout/scotch grain combo, which you can't get otherwise from C&J.

 

[Style989]

Why not go for one rustic boot and then an oxford? You'll cover both bases. So maybe the Grizedale and the Alex would go good?

Even though I'm complaining about the strap, the Aldershots are super lovely and I like the roughout/scotch grain combo, which you can't get otherwise from C&J.

That's actually a pretty good idea, thank you. I love the look of grizedale. But the grain/roughout mix on Aldershot is appealing. Like a subdued spectator. A trip to CJ is in order. I'll report back after

 

[JFWR]

That's actually a pretty good idea, thank you. I love the look of grizedale. But the grain/roughout mix on Aldershot is appealing. Like a subdued spectator. A trip to CJ is in order. I'll report back after

Sounds amazing to me. Go get it, man! There are so many lovely options at C&J, especially if you have a common foot size, that I hope you find exactly what you're looking for.

 

[Style989]

Sounds amazing to me. Go get it, man! There are so many lovely options at C&J, especially if you have a common foot size, that I hope you find exactly what you're looking for.

Thank you

 

[Atemporal]

Hi everyone,
I am thinking on my next CJ pair. The initial plan was going for my third Connaught, but now I have serious doubts. I just discovered the Arden (last 341). Very appealing...

• Could someone share some thoughts on the differences between both in terms of last, shape, fitting...: Connaught vs Arden/Westfield?
• I think 341 is slightly longer/elongated that 236. Could someone confirm it?
• Is the heel cup of the 341 as big (and rounded) as 236? I found it a little bit big in Connaught -I think that is a known issue.

Cheers